Parts of this story won’t be for the faint of heart. You’ve been warned. 

***

This weekend was such a fun time, and Laela had perked right up and was good to go! She could eat anything, run around, and be totally herself. I was SO relieved she was in the clear. WAS. 

Last night, Brady and I were particularly exhausted and needed sleep badly. We had been sleeping for a few hours when I woke up to Rowan beside my bed. His more common midnight wake-up consists of him standing in the doorway super nonchalantly, playing with his underwear, looking around the room, muttering something about needing to pee. Pretty annoying, as he’s more than capable of doing that on his own every moment of the daytime. But last night was different. He was right beside me, saying “Mommy” over and over, shrucking in between. I figured out immediately that he was dry heaving. I grabbed for my garbage can, but it was a bit over from where it usually was. “Garbage! Garbage!” I said over and over, in hopes that either he or I would find it in time. 

Buuuuut we didn’t. Do you remember that delicious description from the other day, where Laela covered her mouth and barfed anyway, spraying it everywhere? Yup. Rowan did exactly that, and I had the pleasure of being in the immediate splash zone. My face, specifically. In that second, Brady clicked the lamp on and I grabbed the garbage. The bulk of the next batch made it in there, and Brady had officially sprung into action. He was over by my bed, on the floor with Rowan, holding a real bucket up to him and reassuring him. 

Once the immediate situation was calmed, we took stock. There were little shreds of vomit evvvvverywhere. Our blanket, my pillows, and our sheets. The floor. My heating pad next to the bed. And, poor Rowan, his face. We grabbed wipes and wiped him off. In that moment, I remembered my own face. (Yes, parenting sometimes means you actually forget that someone barfed on your face.) I just touched it. Just for a second. And I took a chunk of vomit off of my eyebrow. Nope nope nope. Give me ALL the wipes! NOW! 

Eventually, Rowan stopped heaving. I got down on the floor with him and braided his hair back for the night. I’ve been having a problem with my hands recently, so it was actually pretty hard to get it braided, but it worked partially at least. 

And thank goodness for that braid, because that kid got up three more times through the night to gag and heave and barf into his bucket. This poor kid and his unproductive barfs. This morning again, I sit and watch him hover over his bucket and choke and heave with no result. Between his gags, he sputters “No! NO!!!” Or he’ll cry that his throat hurts, which of course it does. 

Poor poor Rowan ❤️ Please say a prayer, if you’re the praying type, that he recovers and that no one else picks it up. Without sounding super selfish, Brady and I cannot be sick right now. We have our Christmas coffeehouse gig this week, and it’s the ONLY time we can get there this month! We cannot reschedule! So please pray for health and wellness over our family this week!!! 

My husband has been gone away this weekend, and now that he’s on his way home, I feel I can say it openly. Lol! Not that I’m particularly worried, but it wasn’t something I felt needed to be broadcasted on the internet. However, I was not alone! Cher came and spent the weekend with us, and I am SO grateful!

The extra set of hands was obviously nice. If I was making food and Wavy was needy (as she tends to be when she realized food is in the making) there was someone to hold her, rather than my trying to juggle her and cook. It was possible, but this was WAY nicer. And that was all great, but regardless of the areas of help that she provided, it was just so nice to have her here as a friend for me ❤️

She said to me over the weekend that this was like the sleepover we didn’t get as teenagers. I LOVED that. If you don’t know, Cher and I went to the same school for a good chunk of our lives, but never really interacted. We knew of each other, but ran in different circles and had a two year age gap. We just never really came in contact. But, better late than never! I’m SO thankful we’re so close at this stage of our lives.

So in true “teenager sleepover” form, we ate a bunch of bad food, drank and lot of pop and coffee, and watched funny movies WAY too late into the night/morning. But in true adult form, we also both got a ton done, and felt very accomplished and productive at the end of the weekend!! Woot! We had fun with the kids all day, of course. I think they really loved having Cher over all weekend! As did I. She’s gone for the day now, but something tells me we may see her again one of these days 😘 Hopefully really soon!

But, all that to say, Brady is on his way home! 🥳 He is the main event today! That man almost never ever gets a break, or a weekend away, and I hope very much that he feels refreshed and renewed! The girls weekend was SO WONDERFUL, and I’m so thankful that I get to go from an amazing weekend to an amazing week with my husband back home!

Myyyyy milkshake brings all the kids to the city! Thats how the song goes, right? 😆

Cher is hanging out with me and the kids today, as we find ourselves without our Brady. This morning, she asked me what I was going to blog about, and at that point, I didn’t have a plan. She made a joke about how my blog would bring all the boys to the yard. That idea spiralled and we ended up loading the kids into the van and heading to the city for milkshakes, among other things.

We listened to Christmas music as we meandered our way in. We stopped at the post office, ran an errand or two, and stopped at McDonalds on our way home to fulfill the promise of milkshakes for Cher and I, and an unnamed treat for the kids. Chocolate chip cookies it was. They were exciting, and completely content with just sitting in the van while I ran into a couple of places and picked up a couple of things.

It was a super relaxed morning, and our “field trip” was exactly what the doctor ordered, because we got home right at lunch time! Woot! The kids tidied up their stuff, and ate their lunch better than usual, considering the promise of the cookie at the end.

Now, 3/5 are down and the other two are quietly colouring and drawing together. Meanwhile, Cher and I are both a bit tired and achy, but will be powering through, as there is never a shortage of things to do. Have I said on here that she got into a bit of an accident the other day? She is SO achy from the stress and tension, and without stealing her thunder, I am SO achy, too! Sympathy stress, I suppose. Sympathy tension. But we’re both sore and and sleepy, so we’re a bit of an odd pair!

Wish us luck for the rest of the day! These kids are SO good and SO chill, and if they day could run out this way, that would be ideal! ❤️ Lifting people is extra tricky for both of the adults around here! And also, no vomit would be great, too!

I’d love to say today was productive, because in some ways it was! But in more ways, it wasn’t. 😬 Lol!

I made a meal for another family, and got the island cleaned off. But the dishes are still a mess. Whoops.

My floor is clean of laundry, but the laundry is not done.

I didn’t get any work done on any Christmas gifts, but I spent quality time with my children and my husband. Brady also got no basement stuff done today, but we took time with each other on purpose. One of those good days where you nurture the friendship side of your relationship, where you actually enjoy being together. It was so nice.

I had a soak!! I’m calling that both productive and slack, because I enjoyed it while it soaked my sore muscles. Did I tell you guys I’m super sore?? Thats another story for another day.

Tonight will be productive in the craft-doing and movie-watching department. Perhaps also snack eating and sleep lacking. I’m very much looking forward to it!

Weekend plans for you, friends?

Two days ago, I wrote about Laela being sick. She threw up in her bed overnight, and took the day off of school. That night, she fevered, so I decided to keep her home the next day as well, so as to protect everyone else from catching whatever she was fighting. By the end of the day, though, she was super energetic, completely back to herself, and begging to go to kids club. We told her that missing school meant missing kids club, but she should be able to go the next day.

Then there was this morning. She was up easily, dressed and ready and at the table, eager to eat breakfast and get moving. I realized within five minutes or so that she was doddling pretty hard. I asked her to pick up the pace, and she took another bite, but her zeal was gone. A few minutes later, she told me she had a tummy ache and asked to stay home. I asked a few questions, about tried to decipher what kind of tummy ache she had. Was she actually sick? Was she just nervous to go back to school for some reason? Maybe she simply hadn’t eaten enough yesterday, and thats why she hurt! I asked her if she felt sick, and she said no. Just had a tummy ache. She said she didn’t want “the students” to get her sickness. I suggested that she should maybe go with her tummy ache and it might even itself out. Her chin quivered and she said again “I don’t want the students to get sick!” In that moment, I believed she was nervous to go to school, for fear of throwing up again, but at school this time. I wouldn’t want to barf at school either. I agreed that she could stay home for the morning, and we’d see how she was then. I want to be conscious of her needs, even if she’s anxious more than actually “sick.”

Aaaaand then she barfed. The lightweights can skip this paragraph 😉 I know you’re out there.

Laela was sitting on the couch, reading a book, while I chatted with Cher and my mom. It was a total pleasure to have them both over at the same time, and it was also really handy, turns out. We were all in the living room when Laela asked me for a bucket because she thought she might throw up. I was caught off guard, and hesitated for a second before I got up and headed for her room in search of a bucket that I thought had been beside her bed overnight. I had made it two steps in that general direction when she covered her mouth, and spewed barf evvvvverywhere!!! I picked up into a run towards her room, and intercepted Waverly, who was heading towards the action. I deposited her in Laela’s room, but found no bucket. I foolishly ran upstairs for one while my mom just grabbed a dish in the kitchen and caught the second burst of vomit. And the third and fourth and how many more after that. I made it back down to her, where my mom was holding a pan in front of Laela and Cher had scooped Wavy up to keep her from splashing around in the vomit. Thus began a quick moving half hour of wiping down my child, couch, and floor. My mom lovingly scrubbed my living room rug and put Laela’s blanket, clothing, and some dirty towels into the laundry. Cher brought paper towel and cleaning stuff, and kept Waverly out of the mess. And in the centre of it all was Laela, feeling worlds apart better, being super strong and brave through it all. She was pretty tired, but knew when she was done and was totally patient while we cleaned up around her. She kept her spirits high and didn’t complain at all. She’s handled her boring day and boring food like a champ. I’m SO impressed with how brave she is when she’s sick.

So in case it wasn’t clear, we’ve rocked another full day of quiet play, reading a lot, drinking lots of water, and lots of naps.

I’m going to keep her home tomorrow, too. Its just too much sickness, and I don’t want to spread the “fun” around. While this is not the season I want my family to be sick in, rather now than even closer to Christmas! Let’s just hope and pray that Laela keeps it to herself! ❤️🤞

There is a legitimate countdown happening in our house. Every morning, the kids ask how many days until Christmas. Today, they remembered on their own. There are 28 more days until Christmas. And thats great, but also terrifying. There is SO much to do in those four weeks!

I’m close to being done Christmas shopping, and most of the rest is just waiting for this weekend when there should be a bunch of sales. The only thing that has thrown me for a loop is the book I had chosen to buy for Waverly. Here’s the thing. Its brand new, and I saw it would be available mid-October. Fine, that was reasonable. When mid-October rolled around, only the paperback and hardcover version became available. I JUST learned that the board book version isn’t coming around until June OF 2021!!!! Not even next year! The next next year! I’m ticked, and while Wavy is pretty good with books nowadays, I’d so much rather give her a book that was a little tougher, so she could haul it around and turn the pages easier on her own. What book would you choose for her, friends? The BEST book for an almost 1.5 year old girl.

I’m still working on some homemade gifts but they’re coming along! I feel optimistic!

I need to kick the sickness currently in our home as soon as possible. And keep anyone else from contracting it. Laela is home again today. She fevered last night, so I decided to keep her and let her body heal today, even if she’s not actually sick anymore. I know the public school division has a guideline where they’re asked to keep kids home until they’ve been fever-free for 24 hours. Our division doesn’t have that guideline, but I think its really smart. So she’s home, lounging on the couch, reading books all day long. She’s happy, and her body is resting. So I’m happy.

My baby just woke up, so I’m going to go retrieve her and get her breakfast going. I was suspicious yesterday that she was getting a bit sick, so wish her luck! 🤞 We need to stay healthy

Today was super out of sorts, but in an odd way. 

Upon getting Laela up, we learned she had thrown up in the night. She had chosen to take care of it on her own, and had changed her jammies and had slept on the other side of her bed. I was kind of shocked and reassured her that we wanted to know if she was sick in the night, and she should really know that she could come up and ask for help. She promised me she knew, but had opted not to risk waking Waverly. She told me she was perfectly fine doing it on her own. I was really surprised, but I also wasn’t, because she’s a super brave, capable little girl. All of those details aside, she had thrown up, and would need to stay home for the day. So that was that. Dekker went off to school on his own. 

Then there was Rowan. He was getting ready for preschool and was in bad shape. Not sick necessarily, but SO grouchy. There was a time a while back when he didn’t do so well at preschool, and had had a tantrum, with lots of crying and fussing. That day, he had told me he hadn’t slept well. And today, he had said the same thing. He hadn’t slept. So we decided it was best to keep him home. He was choked, but just for a minute or two. Maybe he knew it was a good choice.  So that was that. 

However, I was on the calendar to be the parent helper today! I knew it was going to be odd to be there without Rowan, and I wasn’t wrong! It continued along the theme of being a super weird morning. 

Four children showed up at preschool. Four. Less than half of the class. It was SO strange to have such a small group, but I truly enjoyed it. It was so low key, and while time didn’t move as fast, it was nice and quiet and relaxing. It was easier to talk amongst the group and the free play stretches were really calm. It was super different, but also super nice. 

When I got home, Brady had the kids eating lunch, and shortly thereafter, I moved downstairs to get some knitting going. I’m really enjoying all of my projects, and I think I’m enjoying them extra because I’m more confident it’ll all get done in time. I can breathe a little easier. 

Now that we’re towards the end of the afternoon, I can update that all four of the kids at home today napped. Laela is still comfortable at her spot on the couch, but seems in good spirits.

Rowan is maybe a bit more optimistic this morning, but he’s also pretty slow moving. We’ll likely know soon if he’s going to turn up sick, too, or if he’s just in need of some extra sleep. Wish us luck!! 

Breakfast for supper tonight! Because its both delicious, and has been a backwards day, so we’ll keep that feeling going. 

I have a handful of cute pictures that didn’t make it into a blog post but are worth sharing, so we have a bit of a mixed bag today, but hopefully no one objects! I know I don’t!

Wavy has started to just lay down on the floor when she’s tired, whether its soft or hard. This day was particularly cute. 

On Saturday, Dekker was invited over to a friends house during nap time. Laela was at a bit of a loss at what to do with herself. Earlier in the day, I had been invited across the street to help make Christmas treats, and had turned down the invite because we were doing our own Christmas stuff that day. I went back on my reply, and asked if Laela and I could come join for just a little bit. We were welcomed over and Laela made two trays of chocolates. 

The grand chocolate day always feels like a very special event, and we were thrilled to be included this year ❤️ 

Ha! This one wont make any sense. I have a mug than says “love grows here,” and when the kids say it, I always hear “love grows hair.” I mentioned it to Cher, and she shared (Cher-ed) this doodle with me, lol!

Three in a tub! Haven’t done that in a while!

We left Wavy’s hair after the bath and didn’t brush it. Its SO beautiful!!

Aaaaand then she rubbed a bunch of cinnamon bun into her hair over supper, but she just really enjoyed her food. 

The sugar hit eventually and the funny faces broke out. 

It was cute. 

And so was this hug goodnight ❤️

Dekker sure loves his sisters! He’s an excellent big brother, and I can’t wait to see what kind of man he’ll be in the future!

Ok, the mixed bag is emptied out! For now, anyway 😉 I’m sure I’ll be back with more eventually. I was thinking I should do a post on the pictures I have in my “favourites” folder one of these days…

Thats what Rowan said the moment the tree was up and fully decorated. And really, he’s not wrong. 

Wavy slept through decorating, but that was ok this time around. She was SO tired at church, and slept for about four hours this afternoon. It would’ve been crazy to wake her for an event she couldn’t even really participate in. But the other kids really enjoyed it. 

These kids also enjoyed it, but mostly just watching it happen 😏

Aaaaand we even weaseled this kid into helping! 

❤️

Our kids have some special hand painted decorations from my mom that we always hang right at the top of the tree. They’re beautiful and the kids value them very much. They handled them so carefully for their pictures to be taken. Waverly woke up in time to hold hers. She was maybe slightly less gentle and aware 😆 but she’s ultra cute so its ok. 

It was a really, really nice afternoon getting our tree all done up. Did I tell you guys we set out the rest of our decor the other day? I think I didn’t. We have our little trees above the cabinets, the lights strung on our railings, and the wreath on the door. We are SO festive over here! 

This is about as put together as we get these days, but I sure wouldn’t trade this gig for any other.

Here we are again, watching Wavy make so many big changes! I can’t not post about them! Some may be repeats, and I’m not going to look back and see what I have talked about and what I haven’t. The post of today’s post is to highlight just how different she is all of a sudden! Someone said to me the other day, in a discussion about her development, that she is almost two. And she isn’t! She’s about a week out from being 17 months. I’m sure all of these things are typical, but she just seems SO bright to me! I love this list 🤩

Firstly, Waverly is pretty much back to her old self after shots, teething, and a hospital visit. That was a good stretch of shakedowns, and I think she’s finally feeling more like herself. I know that feeling personally, and I’m SO happy for her that she’s back!

Wavy says all kinds of things. Hi and bye. Mom and daddy. I want that. Wear that. Whats that. Eat. Mine. Bite. Yum. Blanket. Grandma. Watch. Dance. Book. Bed. Amen. She mumbles through her siblings names sometimes, and yesterday, she said “LOVE YOU” clear as day ❤️ It. Was. Awesome.

She makes jokes and loves to play! She’ll hold something over her head and say “Ta-da!” She plays a great game of peekaboo, chase, and catch. She loves to be hung upside down and swung in circles, and hangs her arms out like she’s on a roller coaster. She has a dolly she’s favored recently that she carries around and gives kisses. Yesterday, she spun slowly in circles with her baby up in the air. She loves to dance and sing. She sings along to one particular version we have of Deck the Halls. If I had to guess, though, her favorite songs are probably Joy to the Mountain by Hanson, and No Matter Where You Are by Us the Duo. She also loves to pretend she’s on the phone, and holds toys to her ear.

Wavy is super smart and understands a LOT. She knows how to be soft. She can identify her nose, mouth, hair (or ponytail,) hands, feet, and her fave – her belly. She obeys when asked to sit on her bum (another part she recognizes) and will stop when asked. She knows which bed belongs to which kid, and loves to go get her older siblings up from bed.

She eats everything, though recently, is less inclined towards bread. But she’s actually really cooperative and has NO issue with eating whatsoever. Some of our other children always had a beef with food being mixed together, and she does not. She’ll eat anything, and often out-eats her siblings. Not Dekker 😉 but the others. She LOVES smarties (thank you, Halloween) and she just ate cheeseballs the other day, haha! I want to say what her favourite food is but no joke – she loves it all.

Wavy thinks she is the funniest thing. She loves to laugh. She will babble a joke, and then giggle a grunty laugh, very similar to my own, actually. I not-so-secretly love that.

Cher added to the list that she is “better looking and smarter than everyone else’s kids.” She’s not wrong.

I’m sure there’s more, but we’ll leave it at this for now. This little miss is such a bright light in our family. They all are, obviously. No question. I love them all desperately!!